Why Accepting Credit Cards is Key to Your Ecommerce Success

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When a business decides to sell online, they probably think of PayPal’s handy payment button. It’s good for receiving money from customers and is compatible with practically every shopping cart software, but it’s not great for getting paid.

Boost Sales with Credit Card Payments on Your Website

Many online sellers move to more traditional credit card processors like Authorize.net, Paymentcloud, Square, or Stripe for better pricing, lower fees, and a broader array of features.

An eCommerce website that sells electronics will likely have a high conversion rate for credit cards, but so will an online flower shop selling their roses during Valentine’s Day.

That’s why so many online businesses use payment gateways to get paid by credit card. If you’re considering accepting credit cards in the future, you should consider the following benefits first.

Fast and Easy Checkout

One of the biggest benefits of accepting credit cards on your eCommerce website is that customers can check out quickly and easily.

Nearly every customer has a credit card on file with at least one payment processor, and while they can use it in-store through NFC technology, many are not aware that they can also use it online.

That means that if you have a checkout process that requires them to enter in personal information or their billing address, you could be losing out on a huge number of potential purchases.

It’s free

The first and most obvious benefit of accepting credit cards on your eCommerce website is that it is completely free of charge.

You do not need to pay any fees unless you opt for premium services, such as express shipping (UPS, FedEx, etc.) or a customer service rep (Zendesk, Freshdesk). The payment platform offers these premium services.

Make you more money

Paying by card is more efficient and cost-effective than traditional methods like cheques. According to a study by The University of Michigan, customers who pay with credit cards purchase more than twice as much as customers who use other forms of payment (such as checks and cash).

You can accept credit card payments in three ways:

  1. Accept payments from a customer’s existing card.
  2. Collect a customer’s card information at the time of purchase.
  3. Set up an account directly with a credit card processing company.

Regardless of the method you choose, you must first verify the card number and do a security check to ensure that the card is not stolen or fraudulent.

There are additional steps for setting up an account directly with a credit card processing company, but this is a good solution when you want to be paid quickly.

Make your customers happier

When someone is buying something, they want it delivered as quickly and easily as possible. The fewer steps they have to follow in your checkout, the happier they’ll be.

The last thing you want to do is make them angry or frustrated. Make your customers happier. People hate paying by cheque or cash, so if you offer it as a payment method, they’ll be happy to use their credit card instead. If they can’t pay with a card, at least offer them PayPal or Apple Pay.

Use your time efficiently

When it comes to managing the finances of your business, time is a precious commodity. You’re not only juggling all the daily tasks of running an eCommerce business, but you must also keep up with government legislation and financial regulation.

The one task that takes more time than any other is processing payments. Handling and depositing cheques is time-consuming and costly. Accepting credit cards online is easy and allows you to concentrate on other aspects of running your eCommerce business.

To help you take advantage of greater efficiencies, we’ve created a guide to make it easy to accept credit cards in your business.

Take Orders 24/7

Accepting credit card payments will allow you to accept orders 24 hours a day. This gives you the ability to scale your business beyond normal business hours and gain a competitive advantage over your competitors.

Build Your Customer Base – Over 736 million people in the US alone have access to the internet and can shop online. However, for businesses that still don’t accept credit cards online, there’s a huge chunk of potential customers they’re missing out on.

Today, most shoppers know that if they pay with plastic, they’ll have added protection and better dispute rights if something goes wrong with their order. Accepting credit card payments on your eCommerce website will allow you to move beyond local buyers and connect with a whole new market.

It will help you save money

Accepting credit cards online will help cut down on the costs of operating your store completely. If you are an eCommerce store owner, accepting credit card payments for your products or services will help your business save money in the long term.

Deciding to accept credit cards will allow you to keep more of your hard-earned money. By adding Credit Card Payment Options to your online store, you can avoid costly fees associated with other payment options such as PayPal, paper checks, and cash on pickup.

Not only that, you can reduce the costs of manually processing credit cards and keeping track of all your receipts. This will save you time, money, and paperwork.

Makes Business sense

Accepting credit cards on your website is a big step towards widespread success for your eCommerce business. It gives you the ability to reach a wider audience of customers who prefer to shop online.

It makes buying your products even easier for potential buyers who may be hesitant to provide their card information for online purchases.

The majority of consumers prefer to pay by card, and even consumers who do not own a credit card are likely to consider shopping at sites that accept credit cards, as long as they can submit payment online.

A Credit Card Is Like an Advertisement

When customers use their credit cards for purchases online, they essentially use their credit card as an advertisement for you.

This can give your business an edge over those that only accept cash or checks since a credit card can permeate into multiple marketing efforts with little extra cost on your part.

 Customers can shop anywhere

Online payments are accepted worldwide. If you have customers from all over the world, accepting credit cards means you can accept orders from people who don’t live close to your store.

They can order from anywhere in the world with a credit card and not have to worry about going to the store for a return or exchange.

Conclusion

More and more customers are shopping online, which presents a unique opportunity for your business. The benefits of integrating credit card payment processing into your e-commerce store are extensive.

Credit card payments can be received for a lower fee than debit or check, making credit card payments more profitable for you.

Accepting credit card payments online gives your business the ability to reach a wider range of customers, as credit cards are accepted anywhere in the world.